This invention relates generally to a trigger operated pump sprayer having a nozzle cap which can be more positively and safely operated without slippage, and which is capable of being more accurately set between rotative on and off positions to avoid leakage.
The present invention comprises an improvement over U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,888, commonly owned herewith, and directed to a nozzle assembly having a four-sided nozzle cap of rectangular cross-section, opposing pairs of flat walls respectively associated with off and on rotative positions of the cap. Rotation in either direction about the central axis of the cap controls the nozzle between off and on positions.
As the cap is a relatively small part the operator oftentimes has difficulty in manipulating cap rotation, especially when that operator is a person whose physical adroitness may be weak, or whose hands may be wet or damp or who may simply have a weak grip.
The user's fingers thus tend to slip off the nozzle cap upon rotation in either direction. If the cap is not fully rotated to one of its on positions, passages and grooves acting between the coaxial core and the cap skirt telescoped about that core remain mismatched such that the nozzle remains closed. As the user then further rotates the cap to assure positioning in the intended on position, the trigger may have already been actuated such that the user's hand or some other body portion of the user becomes a spray target, which is totally undesirable. Otherwise any residual liquid in the discharge passage which may have accumulated in the process of the earlier partial cap rotation, could leak on to the hand of the user when the cap is again more fully rotated to its on position.
Likewise during the process of rotating the nozzle cap between on and off positions, should the cap not be completely rotated to one of its off positions, the passages and grooves acting between the coaxial core and the telescoping skirt of the nozzle cap further remain mismatched even if ever so slightly. Thus should the spray package be tilted to its side or should the trigger be nudged or inadvertently squeezed, the slight spray which may discharge from the nozzle, is undesirable. Moreover with the nozzle in less than a completely off position residual liquid in the discharge passage of the pump body could easily leak out through the orifice.